New headache for Chris Christie: U.S. probing use of Sandy relief funds

Embattled New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has a new worry: A federal probe of whether he improperly used Superstorm Sandy relief funds to produce tourism ads for the Garden State.

News of the investigation, first reported by CNN, came just days after the Republican governor dismissed two top advisers for their roles in the George Washington Bridge scandal.

The mounting bad news for the Republican governor could prove damaging to his White House ambitions. Last week, he called 2016 polls “meaningless” and said he was concentrating on being governor. He said he isn’t near the “consideration” process, but that was hardly a denial of ambitions to be commander-in-chief. See recap of live blog of Christie’s Jan. 9 press conference.

CNN reports federal auditors will examine New Jersey’s use of $25 million in Sandy relief funds for a marketing campaign to promote tourism at the Jersey Shore. The superstorm decimated the coastline in late 2012. The tourism ads starred Christie and his family.

The bridge scandal, meanwhile, is far from over. Christie has given two different timelines of when he learned of the lane closures on the George Washington Bridge, as The Wall Street Journal noted.